Review: Un Gatto Nel Cervelo ("A Cat In The Brain"/"Nightmare Concert", 1990, Lucio Fulci)

Renowned horror film director Lucio Fulci is haunted by shocking visions of violence. He goes to see his psycho-therapist to help him ease his mind - but the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur even more...

Fulci plays Fulci. In "Un Gatto Nel Cervelo", we get some insight into the crazy mind of a notorious horror film director, and his issues. The uncut version of this concoction has a runtime of 93 minutes. A version currently available on YouTube, which probably is identical to the original German FSK 18 VHS tape release, has a runtime of only 68 minutes. 25 minutes of violence removed - that should give you an idea of the level of depravity this movie has to offer. It's basically a collection of violent scenes, framed by a little giallo story with some comedic elements. In its cut version, it's unwatchable, you literally have no idea what's going on. In its uncut version, a really strong stomach is required to sit it through.

But it's also funny as hell. The giallo element is a farce, the gore is all too blunt and omnipresent, and the scenes of violence are taken from other Fulci movies, which just has to be obvious even for the occasional Fulci viewer. Of course it makes sense given the premise of the story, but the amount of re-used footage is just too substantial. Once you get what's actually going on - or if you don't, then the end of the movie will make it very clear for you - you'll just have to smile from ear to ear. Lucio Fulci is one of the grand-daddies of splatter cinema, a lot of bad things have been, are being, and will be said about horror film makers, and he knows precisely what he's doing. 

Shock scene after shock scene, "Un Gatto Nel Cervelo" is just relentless - thus it has some serious horror value, but it's certainly not a quality thriller. And it isn't meant to be. Yes, there is a psycho thriller story in there, but it's more like the gory equivalent of a "commedia sexy all'italiana". It's cheap, grotesque, a bit naive, and absolutely hilarious given the actual background of Lucio Fulci and his critics. It's a wild ride, and a big, heartfelt middle finger to those who think he's just sick in the brain (lol), as well as a lovely present to his fans. It was never meant to give people real nightmares. Quite the opposite - it's only a movie! It's only Lucio.

Verdict: It doesn't get any more Fulci than this. 6/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099637/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_in_the_Brain

Trailer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zDaNm0srGE

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The new "Nosferatu" (2024) trailer

Classic German expressionism masterpiece "Nosferatu" (1922), which has been remade in 1979 once, gets another remake, for which the trailer has just been released.

After only about 10 hours of being released on distributor "Focus Films" YouTube channel, the trailer already got almost 3 million views - there's certainly an audience for this new "Nosferatu" movie.

On first sight, the trailer looks quite decent. It has hints of Hollywoodism, and making a quick buck from a legendary name - but so far this is just a trailer, and visually it's really quite nice. Featuring Willem Dafoe of "Shadow of the Vampire" fame, the movie gets a little bit of extra "Nosferatu" credibility. Director Robert Eggers obviously has huge shoes to fill, with the previous incarnations of "Nosferatu" being directed by film icons F. W. Murnau and Werner Herzog, and the original movie being one of the most iconic movies ever made, across all genres.

It remains to be seen if the new "Nosferatu" movie can even remotely capture, or recreate, the magic of its predecessors - but judging from the trailer it seems it's (at least) an honest attempt.

Release date for the full movie is set for Dec. 25th 2024.

Watch "Nosferatu" (2024) trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b59rxDB_JRg

https://www.youtube.com/@FocusFeatures

What do you think? Is it any good? Are you going to watch the movie?

Streaming Kino: Night of the Living Dead (1968) - George A. Romero, Duane Jones

The groundbreaking, genre-defining zombie movie that has set the mark for all zombie movies to come.

A study of social psychology, a picture of its time, a pioneer in gore cinema, and an overall exciting and scary movie, "Night of the Living Dead" is still and will probably forever remain in the top five of the genre.

Watch movie:

video source:
https://archive.org/details/NightOfTheLivingDead_201508

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Review: Signs (2002, M. Night Shyamalan)

A priest who's lost his faith, mourning the death of this wife, watches an alien invasion unfold. Soon, he and his now all male family are facing close encounters with the visitors...

"Signs" undeniably has some good stuff. It's a science-fiction horror movie, and, well, it's got some sort of science (...), obvious fiction, and some horror. It's a quality production featuring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, so a certain amount of entertainment is guaranteed. Moreover, the story is lightly touching, the suspense grows, and as the signs of alien activity become more visible, the horror emerges quite effectively. It works really well, the first sighting of the visitors sends genuine chills down your spine, there's a cultural reference here and there, performances by the cast are as expected - overall flawless, exciting handicraft.

Until suddenly it becomes base. Gone is the excitement, and you're staring into the bottomless abyss that is the script of "Signs". Who in his right mind had the idea to suggest that the memory of the words "swing away...", whispered out of context by the dying wife of our ex-priest protagonist, would six months later be interpreted by the latter as a justification to bash someone else's head in with a baseball bat? That is so wrong, on so many levels, it puts the entire movie in a different light. Horror cinema isn't the right place if you're looking for political correctness, but still there's a common denominator for what is considered right and wrong, otherwise horror movies just wouldn't be horror. "Signs" chooses to put the laziest, dumbest idea imaginable at its core and resolution: As she was dying, she had visions of... blunt violence! Swing away, baby!

That choice is probably adequate to some sort of audience, but any person with even the slightest idea of ethics will be appalled. Our ex-priest really has made a remarkable u-turn, and you're wondering if the movie is actually endorsing it. Science inherently means to look at and decipher things - not to crush them with brute force.

"Signs" has nothing to do with science-fiction, it's fantasy, and casually creates a dangerous, arbitrary pseudo-justification for violence. Michael Winner's "Death Wish" (1974) openly portrays a person driven by frustration and revenge, and not much else, making it a far more honest movie. "Signs" creates a framework of emotions, visions of the future, failed Christian belief, and UFO mumbo-jumbo, leading to the supposedly enlightening, supposedly cathartic moment of basically an ex-priest, wait for it, here it comes: bashing someone else's head in with a baseball bat. 

That's what the dying lady is supposed to have hinted at? Wow, that's far beyond anything "Death Wish". In "Signs", the violence is not only supposed to be justified, but an obligation, dictated by visions, UFOs, reptiles, whatever superstition you like.

Paul Verhoeven's "Starship Troopers" (1997) is a comparably clear statement, with its obvious satirical elements, Nazi Germany references, and over-the-top violence. With "Signs", you're not so sure. It's a template for the kind of anti-science, violence-happy, non-reasoning culture that puts belief above democracy and law, and unless you can see the entire movie as a joke, there's little satire in it.

Some educational value can be read into it: Don't. By all means, don't. But the far stronger impression, it seems it wants to create, is: Ohyeah, do. Absolutely. She had a vision, you know.

Calling "Signs" a good movie would be a mistake. It's too shallow to qualify as a portrait of a demolished family, and as a tale of overcoming it's just wrong. Watching it is like bloodletting. Paying to see it would be immoral.

Verdict: Really? Nah, comeon. 3/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286106/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signs_(film)

Trailer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUw26F0WfLg

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Review: Europa Report (2013, Sebastian Cordero)

Humankind goes on a mission to explore Jupiter moon "Europa". What will we find? And how will we get back home?

Science-fiction documentary/found-footage style movie "Europa Report" is a comparably small production, but it opens an entire book of philosophy. It kind of works as a pure thriller, albeit maybe a slightly sober one. But especially if you're the thinking kind of viewer, this movie will keep you occupied for a long time.

In an extended news report, we follow our fictional crew on their journey to moon "Europa". Various challenges and problems lead to setbacks, and tragedy. Still, the team persists. The movie is an exercise in exposing existential questions of humankind. The on-screen action is limited (to some degree probably by the budget), but it's motivated and held together by the writing, and cool, serious, atmospheric mise-en-scene. This perfectly fits the setting, it adds to the survival-suspense, our crew is made of serious scientists. The characters feel a little two-dimensional here and there, and there's the occasional move that feels forced, but, in a sense, that just emphasizes what the movie is all about. It's an exciting space thriller, but "Europa Report" has much bigger ideas.

At some point it just hits you, either while you're watching it, or after. Questions. Many questions. Who are these people? Why does someone choose to go an such a journey? Is that an accurate depiction of how a person behaves under such circumstances? Is that a scientist's mindset? Does science justify such a mission? What place, and purpose, does science have in humankind? What place has one life in evolution? Are we alone? The list goes on. This film is genuinely profound. It creates a string of situations that are thrilling, sometimes scary and sad, to watch, but at the same time point to fundamental, universal questions of life and humanity. Which means: to us, the viewers.

"Europa Report" is fascinating, captivating, and highly thought-provoking. What it lacks in budget, it easily makes up for in clever premise, epic implications, and coherent execution. This is one of the films after watching which you're going to want to have someone to talk with.

Verdict: Clear, existential, moving. Outstanding sci-fi. 9/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051879/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_Report

Trailer video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhdRYk1Y8VA

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Review: Tras el cristal ("In a glass cage", 1986, Agusti Villaronga)

A Nazi criminal tries to escape his dark past and his demons by attempting suicide. But he fails, and ends up in an iron lung, requiring constant attention and care. A young male nurse is assigned to the job, and appears to have an unexpectedly deep relation to the patient...

If there's any aspect of humanity that deserves to be characterized as "innocent", it has to be the children. The loss of that innocence is a tragedy, and oftentimes becomes the root of more tragedy to come.

"Tras el cristal" is a Spanish horror thriller that deals with childhood trauma, and, in a wider sense, with war, but in strong contrast to e.g. "Quien puede matar un nino?" goes deep into psychology, exposing the individual experience of pain.

Given the horrific premise of the story, and the meticulous execution of the film, "Tras el cristal" is genuinely hard to watch. On the surface it's a depressingly dark tale of revenge, a sinister psycho thriller that plays out to grotesque levels. But at its core is a sad, sobering truth: The trauma will be passed on. Life does not choose - it just adapts.

Visually, it's dark, and surreal. We're undoubtedly in actual horror territory. This is not a crime movie - this is about the human soul. Throughout the movie we're seeing traumatized characters. Which are portrayed by the actors, young and old, with gut-wrenching accuracy. The mere sight of a person in an iron lung might be hard to stomach for some, but "Tras el cristal" goes much, much further in its descriptions and depictions. Actually not too much is shown on screen, but enough to make you gasp, and your mind will fill in the gaps.

Is it an exploitation movie? Well, yes, it kind-of is. It's a horror movie after all, which implies simplification and provocation. And it's an effective one. In fact it's so effective, and scenes involving children are always a particularly sensitive issue, it's really not for everyone. But "Tras el cristal" is also a well-rounded, captivating production, adequate to the difficult subject in its serious tone, and undeniably carries an important message that must be universally heard and understood: Don't hurt a child.

Verdict: Dark. Very, very dark. 7/10 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090197/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Glass_Cage

Trailer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKBupFkBY2Y

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Review: Quien puede matar a un nino? ("Who can kill a child?", 1976, Narciso Ibanez Serrador)

A man and his pregnant wife seek ease and reclusion on an island. What they find is the island to be seemingly devoid of people - except for the children. Slowly, the couple begins to uncover the true extent of what is going on...

Spain has produced a round of outstanding horror movies - one of which certainly is this one. It's genuinely scary, and can be pretty tough to sit through, especially if you're a parent. 

Two obvious themes come to mind when trying to analyze this film: a couple facing birth of their child, and rebellion of children. A third one is hidden in plain sight: Could you actually kill a child? Under what circumstances could this even become an option? These questions alone are almost too uncomfortable to even think about, let alone seeing them applied in a movie.

That's a lot of heavy subject matter. But do not despair. "Quien puede matar a un nino?" takes the easy way out. It doesn't go into the actual psychological causes and implications of the above, or, just to a very limited degree. If it really would, it would also be a very, very long movie, and, being in the horror genre, probably just downright devastating.

What remains is an intense shocker, that decides not to answer the (partly serious) questions it asks. In that sense, it's a bit on the naive side, but in every other sense it goes all the way, and doesn't flinch away from the consequences. Technically, the acting is good to outstanding, there are a couple of epic scenes of creeping terror, the script, together with some nice editing, provides twists and reveals, music is used sparsely, but effectively, and everything is put together with a good pace, resulting in a constantly growing feeling of suspense and scare. "Quien puede matar un nino?" is a terrifying experience, that might be a little too much for some, but at its heart is inspired by the love for children, and - thankfully - is "just" a great horror film.

Verdict: Hellish. Grotesque. Brilliant. 8/10

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075462/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Can_Kill_a_Child%3F

Watch the full movie for free in "Streaming Kino"...

Trailer video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjs29zGhjW8

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